The Cure to Ranma's Curse
by Luna Sealeaf
Summary: Ranma's curse has taken a turn for the worse! Can he fix it before it's too late? (Post manga)
1. Default Chapter

Hello all, Luna Sealeaf here! Just wanted to say one little thing. I love the series, and I've read most of the manga, including the last one, however it's been awhile and I don't remember all the details, and I don't have access to read them again. So please, forgive me if I make a mistake in the story or if I have forgotten something. To avoid this I've tried to stay away from the details of the end of the manga, however it's entirely possible I've done something unintentional. I'd also like to add that, these are most definitely not my characters! They were created by Rumiko Takahashi, who is a genius in my opinion, and she and maybe some sort of anime company are the only ones with rights to it. So please do not sue me! I have no money anyway! However, the plot is entirely mine, and I'd be very annoyed if someone stole it. If this resembles someone else's idea, I apologize, but I haven't read any that have this plot, so I can honestly say that this has spawned from my own imagination, for better or for worse. While trying to stay true to the characters and the overall..atmosphere..of the manga, it is impossible to write as well as Ms. Takahashi, and of course I cannot draw to save my life..so please just enjoy the story! I wish the real thing could have gone on and on, but since it ended, we diehard fans have to continue it in our imaginations.so, enough prattle.enjoy!  
  
The Cure to Ranma's Curse  
Part 1  
  
She was in the middle of a clearing in a forest; a dense forest filled with tall, green trees. Why am I here?, she wondered. Suddenly, a crashing noise from behind her made her jump, turning around quickly. "Who's there?" She called out loud, body ready to fend off an unfriendly visitor. A man appeared in the small clearing. His clothes were strange, but glancing down she realized her clothes were of a similar fashion, adding to her confusion. The man's long black hair was tied back in a knot, and he smiled in a manner that made her want to run. As he took a step forward, an arm extended towards her, that's just what she did. Turning, she ran into the thick forest, breath catching in her throat as she struggled to scream for help.  
"Jun!" The man called after her. Strangely, she realized it was her name, and this only increased her panic. She could hear him catching up to her, turning she found herself in another clearing, this one had many small pools of water everywhere that she could see. Still running, she weaved her way through them, some instinct telling her to keep out of the waters. Suddenly she fell onto the ground, and before she knew what was happening, she felt someone grab onto her arms tightly. I must have tripped, she thought vaguely as she struggled against him, crying out in words she did not understand. When he spoke to her however, she could understand him perfectly.  
"How could you do this to me, Jun? I loved you!" The man said angrily, shoving her face into the water. This can't be happening! She thought frantically, as she struggled against him, holding her breath as long as she could; but finally she sank into darkness.  
"No!" Bathed in sweat, Ranma Saotome sat up on his futon, gasping for breath. His father, in the form of a panda, held up a sign saying 'Quiet!' and promptly kicked him out of the room. Still feeling shaky, Ranma made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water. Must have been a dream, he thought as he gulped it down. Yet it seemed so real! He shivered as he remembered the feeling of the man holding him in the water until he drowned, and wondered if it was some sort of omen. And who the heck was Jun? He didn't know anyone named Jun; it didn't even sound Japanese. Still feeling troubled, he wondered if Akane would mind if he woke her up. Nah, she shouldn't lose sleep over a stupid dream. With that decision made, he walked outside and jumped up to the roof. It was a warm summer night, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to fall back asleep; in any case he didn't feel like going back to his room. So instead he occupied his mind with happier things; such as his upcoming wedding. It had been almost eight months since his first failed wedding with Akane. Looking back, they both had agreed that it was a bit rushed; their gladness at being alive had spurred them to hurry things. Although they had been mad at everyone at first for ruining it, they couldn't help but forgive them. After all, how could they understand that Akane and Ranma wanted this when it had happened so suddenly? Since when had anything in their lives gone smoothly? So it had been rescheduled until next year. Now, it was only three months away, and Ranma was both nervous and excited. These past few months had been almost sheer bliss; he had a terrible feeling that it couldn't possibly last. Akane and he had rarely fought; and when they did, they were both confident enough to make up without worrying that the other didn't feel the same. Ryoga had disappeared for awhile, but when he had finally returned, he had wished his two friends the best and had settled in as their mutual friend. When they asked about Akari, he only blushed and muttered, so they only hoped it was going well for them. Shampoo and Mousse seemed to be getting along better, she and Cologne seemed to be taking the news of Ranma's future wedding surprisingly well, which left Ranma slightly suspicious, but he figured things were better left alone. Kuno, Kodachi, and Happosai were the same as ever, of course, and Ranma's only regret was Ukyo. She had accepted their explanation of their love, and they hadn't spoken much since. Busy with the restaurant, the last they had heard was that she was planning on attending a university course to become a better chef and small business owner. His only real friend from childhood, Ranma had bitterly missed his 'Ucchan'. Even though she had been one of his fiancées, there had been times when she had put aside her jealousy and love to be simply his friend, and he missed that.  
Hearing footsteps, he turned and his face broke into a smile when he saw Akane climbing up to the roof in her pajamas. She grinned back at him, spreading a blanket over them as she sat down, despite it being a mild summer night.  
"What're you doing up?" He asked, staring up at the star-filled sky.  
"I heard someone moving around downstairs and I figured it must be you. Then I heard you up here and decided you might want some company." She blushed slightly as she added, "If you'd rather be alone though." quickly, Ranma shook his head.  
"Nah, it's nice to have some company, but I didn't mean to wake you up." Nodding, but saying nothing else, she wrapped her arms around her legs and followed his gaze to the sky.  
They had talked about the situations with their friends; and Akane had even understood Ranma's sadness about Ukyo without being jealous. She had plenty of friends, while Ranma had either fiancées or rivals. Ryoga and he were becoming better friends, but he had a history with Ukyo. Other than that, Akane assumed nothing else was wrong. There was still something bothering him though, and he hadn't told anyone, not even Akane. For the past few months, his curse had started feeling different. At first, he hadn't noticed it, since he hadn't spent long periods of time as a girl. When the heater broke a month after they returned, he was stuck as a female, and he started to notice that he felt different. Not the obvious difference of being a girl; he felt like a different person. He had become moody, his thoughts drifted, and the names of those around him had escaped him a few times. It had scared him, but when he returned to his normal form, he had forgotten about it, until he started having the dreams, such as the one that night. They were so vivid, they felt like memories, but Ranma was sure they couldn't be. He had considered talking to Dr. Tofu about it, but felt silly. They were only dreams, after all.  
"What're you thinking about, Ranma?" Akane asked, leaning her head against his shoulder, already starting to fall asleep again.  
"Uh-about our wedding I guess," He replied, shaken out of his thoughts by her voice. Smiling wistfully, Akane sighed.  
"Yeah, I can't wait. Can you?" This time it was his turn to become red, and he stammered his reply.  
"N-no, I can't." She laughed softly again, but rather than get angry as he would have done a year ago, Ranma only grinned ruefully.  
They sat on the roof for awhile, before Ranma returned a sleeping Akane to her bed and he went back to his room. Neither were worried about others watching; even Nabiki had become bored with trying to sneak up on them and then blackmailing them; Akane had made it perfectly clear that their relationship was not a secret, and had convinced Ranma as much too. Although Ranma had his own house with his mother and father; Genma liked to visit his friend, and Nodoka had encouraged Ranma and Akane to spend time together. Of course, there were still a few minor details Ranma had yet to clean up. He had had a talk with Ryoga, well, it had involved a few half-hearted kicks and punches, but Ryoga had agreed that he had to stop sleeping in Akane's bed, despite the fact he was a pig when he did so. Ranma had promised (again) to not tell Akane about his curse, so long as Ryoga promised to do so at the right time, whenever that would be. For now, he was just enjoying the happy moments he was having with Akane. The only times they ever were awkward around each other was when Saffron was brought up. Everyone tended to avoid the topic, but it still hung over Ranma like a dark cloud that he had only been saved from becoming a killer by the fact that Saffron had been reborn. While he would have done anything to save Akane, and not regret it for a moment, he still sometimes had trouble coming to terms with how willing he had become to kill, if only to save someone he loved.  
The next morning dawned another bright sunny day, and the Tendo house was filled with the sense of peace everyone was enjoying, but knew couldn't last long. The day began as normal enough; after breakfast, Soun and Genma were playing their usual game, and Kasumi was (yet again) trying to teach Akane how to cook. To Ranma's surprise, and relief, it seemed that part of Akane's cooking trouble might have been self-consciousness; she could successfully make an edible bowl of soup, as long as she didn't try and add any of her 'spices' to it. Kasumi was now trying to teach Akane the western meal 'macaroni and cheese', since it was fairly simple.  
As for Ranma, he was performing his daily exercises, and hoping he wouldn't be asked to sample Akane's cooking. Before long, Ryoga showed up, looking bewildered until he saw the house.  
"Yo Ryoga," Ranma calmly replied as he continued his movements. Tossing down his back pack and umbrella, Ryoga nodded back.  
"You're getting lazy Ranma; if I recall you used to be able to do those much faster," He said, with a cocky smile, referring to Ranma's routine. Grinning and cracking his knuckles, Ranma paused to turn to Ryoga.  
"You think so? How bout I prove you wrong?" He replied, getting into his usual fighting stance. Ryoga smiled again, turning to face him as well.  
"As if you could," With that, they ran at each other and began sparring. After nearly an hour of it, Akane came running into the yard, carrying a plate laden with what looked like orange gook, to put it nicely.  
"Ranma! Ranma! Come try these noodles! Don't they look delicious?" She frowned, not seeing them. "I know I heard him out here." She said, turning around just as she heard a cry of-  
"Akane! Look out!" Ranma was flying towards her, too fast for her to move. To keep from hitting her, he spun and twisted in the air, only this ruined his landing form. Luckily, he hit the koi pond with a painfully loud crack and sent mini waves over the side of it.  
"Ranma!" Akane cried, forgetting her plate of food and running over to the pond.  
"Oh come on Ranma, don't tell me you're out of it with a little hit like that-." Ryoga said as he followed Akane to the pond. As they got closer they looked in, seeing Ranma, in his girl form, sitting in the middle of the pond with a dazed look on her face.  
"Here Ranma," Akane said, reframing from laughing as she held out her hand to help him out. To her utter surprise, instead of looking abashed, or even just brushing her hand away, a stream of incomprehensible words came out of Ranma's mouth and he looked around wide eyed. Catching sight of Ryoga, he sprang out of the pond and ran out of the yard.  
Completely at a loss for words, Akane turned and looked at Ryoga.  
"What on earth did you do to him?" Ryoga shrugged helplessly.  
"I'm not surprised at him running away from a fight, but that was unusual even for him." Despite his rough words, he had a slightly worried look in his eye.  
"Do you think we should go after him?" Akane wondered aloud, shielding her eyes as she stared in the direction Ranma had run. Ryoga only shrugged again.  
Farther in Nerima, Ranma was running blindly through the streets. Slamming into another person, he was knocked to the ground. A bright cheery voice exclaimed,  
"Ranma! You come to see Shampoo?" The smiling Amazon was sitting on her bicycle, having just finished her deliveries. Ignoring Ranma's puzzled look, she pulled him into the Cat Café, calling out happily. "Great- Grandmother, look who come to visit!" Cologne came into the room, hopping on her staff and even Mousse came in. Although no longer as threatened by Ranma now that he was officially engaged to Akane, Mousse still didn't like Shampoo's fondness of him.  
"Greetings boy," Cologne replied, and Mousse nodded stiffly.  
"Ranma hungry?" Shampoo asked, fetching a bowl of ramen from behind the counter. The three of them watched Ranma expectantly, but he just looked back with a wild-eyed appearance. He tried to answer them, but only a strange language came out, causing Cologne to gasp, while Shampoo and Mousse simultaneously asked, "What?" Ranma repeated his stream of babble, and suddenly Cologne threw the bowl of ramen over Ranma.  
"Waah! Hot, it's hot!" He exclaimed. Looking up, he stared at the others and his surroundings with a dazed expression on his face. "Hey, how'd I get here?"  
"Ranma no remember?" Shampoo asked incredulously. Cologne explained to Ranma how Shampoo had found him, in his girl form, running through the streets, and how he had spoken in a strange language.  
"In fact, it almost sounded like ancient Chinese." Cologne said calmly.  
"How is that possible?" Mousse asked, sounding as surprised as Shampoo and Ranma looked. "Ranma doesn't even know modern Chinese, do you Ranma?" He turned to him anxiously, and Ranma shook his head.  
"The last thing I remember was sparring with Ryoga, then falling towards the pond, and that's it." The three Amazons stared at him in surprise.  
"Shampoo, you'd better go tell Akane and her family where Ranma is. Mousse come to the back and help me. Ranma, stay right where you are." Shampoo ran outside, Ranma nodded, standing up and sitting at an empty table, while Mousse followed Cologne into the back room.  
Breathless, Akane and Ryoga returned with Shampoo after a few minutes. Quickly, Ranma explained what had happened. Just as he had finished, Cologne and Mousse returned.  
"What's wrong with Ranma?" Akane asked in a concerned voice, sitting down next to him.  
"I'm afraid I'm not sure. However, I think it is obvious that whatever it is, it has to do with Ranma's curse. Ranma, have you noticed any changes in your cursed form recently?" She asked. They all turned to look at Ranma, and he felt himself blush, stammering as he began to tell about the dreams and his sense of detachment when he was in girl-form. Akane placed her hand comfortingly on Ranma's arm.  
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked. Not meeting her eyes, he mumbled a reply.  
"I didn't want to worry you over nothing." Fighting the ache he still got when he saw them together, Ryoga took a deep breath before turning away from the couple and voicing his worries.  
"Have you or Shampoo noticed changes in your cursed forms? I mean, is it just Ranma?" They both shook their heads, but before they felt relieved, Cologne spoke up again.  
"Ranma's curse is unique in that it is a human being. Mousse and Shampoo's are animal. I'm not sure what's wrong with Ranma's curse, however there have been reports of," She hesitated. Standing up, Ranma asked firmly.  
"What do you know?" Sighing, she shook her head slowly.  
"Not much I'm afraid. Only that there were rumors of others whose cursed form was a human. Some, after a long time with theirs, started complaining that they felt like they were developing split personalities. They began to lose control over their cursed half when in its form." "So how'd they stop it?" Ranma finally asked. Cologne shook her head slowly.  
"They didn't." Akane closed her eyes, her hand sliding into his. Swallowing hard, Ranma looked around at the others, only Ryoga nodded back and met his gaze.  
"Well, how do I stop it then? I don't intend on dying or going mad." He turned his gaze defiantly towards Cologne. She studied him for a moment before answering.  
"I am afraid I do not have all the answers Ranma. My suggestion would be to return to China, to the ground of accursed pools, and to question the guide. His family has watched over the grounds for a long time, it may be that he will be able to answer your questions." Ranma nodded once, then grinned, saying nonchalantly,  
"Guess I'm taking a trip to China. Don't worry Akane, I'll be back in no time." Smiling with deceptive sweetness at his grinning face, she replied,  
"Of course I won't worry, Ranma. I'm going with you." At this Ranma's grin faded even as Akane's expression steeled.  
"Akane, you have to stay here! I don't know if I'll be able to protect you! What if I get turned into a girl and go psycho?" Akane frowned back at him.  
"I can take care of myself Ranma, you can't stop me from following you." Silence fell as the couple studied each other, the Amazons and Ryoga. "Don't worry about her Ranma. I'll come too, like I'd trust you to be able to take care of Akane! Hah! Besides, you're likely going to bungle things up as usual unless someone's there to stop you." Smiling wryly as Akane stood up and hugged a now furiously blushing Ryoga, Ranma shook his head, standing as well.  
"Gee thanks Ryoga, that's so incredibly selfless of you." Ignoring their jibes, Akane, eyes filled with tears, nevertheless smiled as she turned back to Ranma.  
"Aren't you glad now that you're not going all the way to China by yourself Ranma?" Observing his fiancée and his, if he dared to describe him as such, friend, Ranma shrugged, then smiled also, surprising even himself at his answer.  
"Yeah, guess I am."  
  
End of Part 1  
  
So what do you think of it? Please send all thoughts, comments, or ideas to Runicprincess@aol.com, if you don't want to write a review. Thanks again for reading it! (I know I rated it PG, and this chapter seems all happy and bubbly, but it's going to get more serious, if not darker, in the later chapters.) Thanks again, happy reading!  
-Luna Sealeaf. 


	2. The Cure to Ranma's Curse: Part 2

I've decided to try a new format, one I've commonly seen on other fanfiction, of having spaces between each chapter. I think this makes it easier to read, and hopefully it will turn out better than my first chapter. If it doesn't; sorry, I'm new at fanfiction.net! Ok, on to Part 2, and thanks to everyone's who's reviewed or just read it!  
  
The Cure to Ranma's Curse  
Part 2  
  
Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga set out two days later for China, specifically for the accursed grounds of Jusenkyo. Having little money, and knowing no other way to get to China, Ranma decided they'd walk, then take a boat, then walk again. He would have swum to China, but of course Akane would try and follow; possibly drowning, and Ranma didn't trust himself in his girl form anymore.  
  
It was almost fun for the first week. The three of them managed to get along fairly well, and Kasumi had packed enough supplies for them that they were able to camp and eat comfortably. Except for when Akane cooked, that is.  
  
"Dinner's ready!" She called out cheerfully. Akane kneeled over a pot boiling over their campfire, two small tents to her right. They had reached China with few delays, and all were confident that they would soon be at their destination. Hearing her call, Ranma glanced at Ryoga, who refused to meet his gaze. Ranma wasn't sure he really wanted to try Akane's cooking, but he knew Ryoga would do it no matter what, and Ranma didn't want to hurt Akane's feelings, especially in front of him. So as they halted their training, Ranma plastered a falsely happy grin onto his face and walked over to the pot, breathing in the fumes deeply.  
  
"Ah! Smells good Akane!" He said, still grinning. Oblivious with pleasure at the compliment, Akane blushed but smiled proudly, stirring her concoction with a small wooden spoon.  
  
"Thanks Ranma. I hope it tastes good." She said as she ladled it out onto their small traveling plates. Not to be outdone, especially by Ranma, Ryoga hastily took a bite and said, grinning also,  
  
"Delicious! It's the best meal I've eaten in a long time." Quickly he shoveled more into his mouth. Ranma hadn't tried his yet, but as Akane turned to watch him, he quickly took a bite. The years of training in self- discipline were the only thing that kept him from spitting it back out. While he had tasted far worse, and this was gourmet for Akane's cooking, it still tasted like boiled leather; with lots of salt. He followed Ryoga's example by eating as fast as possible, handing the plate back to Akane, saying a quick, "Thanks!" and running into the woods.  
  
When they were finished being sick, Ranma turned wearily to Ryoga, who still looked green.  
  
"Well, at least neither of us are in a coma," He smiled ruefully, and Ryoga started to nod, but quickly caught himself.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about. The meal was wonderful; I've just been feeling sick," Rolling his eyes, Ranma walked back to the camp, finding Akane's tent already closed up, he assumed she was asleep and he went in to the tent he and Ryoga shared to do the same.  
  
Just as his eyes were closing for the last time, it occurred to Ranma that Ryoga had not yet returned. Cursing himself for a fool, he jumped up and ran out of the tent, looking around.  
  
"Oy Ryoga! Where are ya?" He called out, looking around for the Lost Boy. How could he have left Ryoga alone in the woods? The guy didn't have a clue when it came to directions. Even if the campsite were in sight, Ryoga was prone to make a wrong turn while walking towards it. "P-Chan!" He called again, figuring Ryoga would surely answer to that. Awakened by his calls, a yawning Akane stepped out of her tent, clad in a jacket over white pajamas.  
  
"What's wrong Ranma? Where's Ryoga?" She asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes as she looked around.  
  
"It's ok Akane; I think Ryoga just got lost, again, as usual." Ignoring him, Akane started circling the campsite, calling Ryoga's name as well. Sighing, and feeling tired and annoyed at Ryoga's disability, Ranma started off towards the area he had last seen Ryoga. As he ran off, he called back to Akane,  
  
"Stay here! I'll find him," She tried to answer him, but he had already disappeared into the woods. The night air had become chilly, and Ranma's thin Chinese red shirt and pants weren't as warm as he had thought. He continued to call Ryoga's name, but heard nothing. Trying to find some sort of trail that he might have made, Ranma realized that more time must have passed than he had first thought. The sky was lightening up, and his shoulders slumped with exhaustion. Usually he had boundless energy, but he and Ryoga had sparred all day, and he wasn't used to getting no sleep at all. Worried about Akane, since it was unlikely that she had listened and stayed at the camp, Ranma turned around and started back. 'Maybe she already found him, or he blundered back by accident.' He thought hopefully. It took him a few minutes to find the way back, and just as he had started walking, he heard a crack of thunder. 'Oh no,' he mentally groaned. Sure enough, a splash of water-cold water- hit his back, and a moment later a lithe figure could be seen running through the woods.  
  
"Ryoga!" Akane's voice was growing hoarse, and she felt as though she could fall asleep on her feet, but she didn't want to quit looking. Finally she turned around, hoping that Ranma had found Ryoga by now. She had just reached the camp again when she heard thunder, saw a flash of lightning, and was drenched by the time she reached her tent. 'Oh no! What if Ranma's still out there?' She turned away from her tent and quickly looked inside the boys'. A startled Ryoga looked back at her.  
  
"Oh Ryoga! Ranma found you! We were worried," She said, feeling relieved; not noticing her rain drenched hair and clothes.  
  
"We-were you?" He stammered, blushing slightly. He only thanked his lucky stars that he had found his way back-completely by accident-before it had began to rain. The second half of her sentence registered in his mind as he struggled not to stare at her.  
  
"Ranma didn't find me though. Did he go looking?" Why would Ranma look for him, he wondered. This thought was dismissed as he saw Akane's worried face.  
  
"He's still out there then, in the rain. As a girl," Not waiting for Ryoga's reply, she turned yet again and called out, this time for Ranma. Ryoga followed her as soon as he had opened his umbrella.  
  
"We can't find him in this Akane. If he knows what he's doing, he'll be back soon, if not, well, he's too fast for us to find; especially in this rain." He held the umbrella out so it covered both of them, watching Akane's reluctant nod of agreement. It nearly broke his heart all over again to see how much she cared for that oaf. "We'll find him in the morning, I promise," He said solemnly, seeing her hesitation. At his words however, she seemed to calm down. She nodded and turned to Ryoga. They made their way back to the tents, Ryoga waiting for her to enter hers before going back to his own, so he didn't have to take the umbrella off her. 'Sorry Ranma, but you can take care of yourself, and I can't find you as a pig anyway,' Ryoga said apologetically in his mind. Besides, both he and Akane were too tired to be able to do much that night anyway. Turning away from Ranma's bed, he quickly fell asleep.  
  
In her tent, Akane had slipped into dryer clothes, frowning as she wondered where Ranma was and if he was ok or not. Listening to the pounding rain above her head, the wind making the tent roof sway, she whispered quietly into the night,  
  
"Please be safe, Ranma."  
  
End of Part 2  
  
Wow, this is going a lot slower than I thought it would. Anyway, hope you didn't find this too boring, I can only promise that it does get more interesting; at least, I think it does, later. For now, will Ranma be ok in his girl-form-gone-crazy? Will Ryoga and Akane find him? Trust me, when I know you'll know!  
Again, please send all thoughts/comments/ideas to Runicprincess@aol.com, or write a review. Also, as you may have noticed, I'm not going into too much detail, nor am I trying to make this super realistic. While I admire the work writers put into when Ranma&Co are in mundane situations, such as using trains/planes, etc. for transportation, I decided against going into such detail because it doesn't add to my plot, and you don't see that in the anime or manga, and I'm trying to keep this as much like that as possible. Ok, I'll shut up now and go think of what happens next..hope you enjoyed it!  
-Luna Sealeaf 


	3. The Cure to Ranma's Curse: Part 3

Thanks so much for the reviews of chapter 2! Sorry it was so short, but it seems longer on Microsoft Word, which is what I write on. Also, I forgot the disclaimer! Hopefully it's not too big a deal, I mean, like I could come up with such a great story? Yeah right. To be safe though, let's just make it absolutely clear that I do not own these characters, (except for Ling, who sprang from my twisted imagination) in any way, shape or form, am not making a profit from this, other than pride for my already inflated ego, and so there is no reason to sue me whatsoever. Anyway, here's chapter 3, in which the first true important plot points occur.Enjoy!  
  
The Cure to Ranma's Curse  
Part 3  
  
The next thing Ranma remembered, after standing in the middle of the forest as it started to rain, was waking up in an alley way. Groaning, he realized his clothes were a mess, and he ached all over. His hair was disheveled, his clothes mostly torn and covered in mud to boot. Standing up, he limped out onto the crowded street, and he felt a rush of panic as he wondered, 'Where am I?!'  
  
Ryoga and Akane packed up the tents, buried the fire, and prepared to look for Ranma. Just as they were about to set out, Akane glanced over at Ryoga and said, trying to sound as nice as possible,  
  
"Uh, maybe we should look for him together, so we don't get split up again," She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but even though she said this delicately as possible, Ryoga still blushed and looked away from her.  
  
"Right," He said shortly. Sighing and hoping he wasn't offended, Akane started off in the direction Ranma had headed to look for Ryoga-East. Hopefully they'd be able to find some clues as to what had happened to him. She and Ryoga walked in silence for a while. They scanned the ground carefully, but Akane became frustrated as the found no sign of him. After a few hours, they stopped for a lunch break.  
  
"I'm surprised we haven't found anything yet," Ryoga said thoughtfully, munching on a pre-made sandwich made by Kasumi.  
  
"I know. If he was running wildly like he was when Shampoo found him, surely he'd leave some evidence of a trail." She looked trouble, and they fell silent again. Ryoga knew he ought to be happy-Ranma was gone, literally out of the picture for the moment, and he was all alone with Akane. It was the perfect opportunity to try and win her back. Yet.did he want her back? She clearly loved Ranma, and he admitted to feelings for Akari. He finished his sandwich and started cleaning up as Akane finished as well. If he was honest with himself, Ryoga was also a little concerned about Ranma. It was very disconcerting, this strange change in his curse. It also made Ryoga wonder if his curse would develop complications eventually, as if it wasn't bad enough.  
  
"Ryoga! Come here! I found something!" Akane's excited voice broke his strain of thoughts, and he realized he had been sitting still while Akane had gotten up to walk around, although she was still in plain view.  
  
Taking longer than most people would have, Ryoga ran to where she was and examined what she was pointing to. A tree with slashes on its trunk, and broken branches were all that he could see.  
  
"What do you think this means?" He asked, studying the marks carefully. "It looks like someone fought with a tree," Akane nodded, one hand tracing a broken branch.  
  
"I know. But if his cursed form is out of control, then maybe he did attack the tree for some reason." Even as she said this, Ryoga stood back and looked at the tree, a thought quickly coming to mind that disturbed him.  
  
"Akane," He said quietly, almost in a whisper as he made sure he couldn't be mistaken. "I think we're wrong. These marks and the broken branches, it looks more like someone was trying to climb the trees and couldn't. As though they were trying to get away from something, but didn't." Akane's eyes grew wide at this, and she took a step away, then turned and started to search the nearby trees.  
  
"Come on Ryoga, regardless of what caused those marks, we gotta find him."  
  
At almost the same moment, Ranma was walking down the streets of a strange village in China; at least, he assumed he was still in China. He was actually starting to sympathize with what Ryoga had to go through so often. This was really almost frightening, more because of the fact that he couldn't remember what had happened after becoming a girl rather than the fact that he was completely lost. Feeling bewildered, he walked into a small restaurant that was empty, and looked for someone who could help him. A young girl with an apron came into the room and smiled, approaching Ranma. Ranma didn't speak Chinese, but he had picked up a few useful phrases during training trips, and he knew she was greeting him in some way. Straining his mind to remember, he said slowly in heavily accented Chinese,  
  
"Where am I?" The girl's smile faltered, but she answered, giving a name Ranma didn't recognize. She then said something else, seeing his stricken face, and from what Ranma could make out, it sounded as though she were asking if he was lost. Racking his brain for the right phrases, he tried to explain that he couldn't remember. It came out more like,  
  
"I no think," The girl seemed as frustrated as Ranma, and called to the back of the room. A man walked into the room from the back, a little older than the girl, and he frowned as she talked to him in Chinese. Feeling very out of place, Ranma shifted uncomfortably, wondering what they were saying. After a moment, the man nodded and turned to Ranma, saying in heavily accented Japanese,  
  
"You are lost?" Ranma nodded, and said slowly in Japanese,  
  
"I can't remember how I got here," The man's brow furrowed as he concentrated on Ranma's words, but he replied,  
  
"You should see Old Ling, she can help," He then proceeded to give directions to a very confused Ranma, who thanked him and walked back out into the street, following the directions as they led him to a small dingy shop close to the alley he had awoken in. Stepping inside, he could just make out a hunched form in the back of a dark room. He called out a tentative 'Hello?' in Chinese, then Japanese when the form didn't answer.  
  
"Ah, now you speak truly, young man," A dry voice called out, followed by a cackling that made the hairs on the back of his neck crawl. The woman spoke in Japanese, with a Chinese accent less noticeable than the man in the restaurant's had been.  
  
"Can you help me remember something?" He asked, walking closer towards her. "You are, uh, Ms. Ling, right?" Ranma asked. Something about the woman reminded him of Cologne, only Cologne seemed like a sweet old grandmother compared to the aura he sensed around the woman.  
  
"Yes yes, I am Ling. And you're other question depends," The withered voice said. His nervous feeling growing, he asked,  
  
"Depends on what? I don't have any money I'm afraid," For that had been packed up at camp. The woman chuckled again,  
  
"Depends on why you forgot it in the first place, and if you really want to remember it," She turned to face him, and Ranma stepped back involuntarily when he saw her face. The woman had no eyes, only sunken pits where her eyeballs should have been, straggly, unwashed white hair was held back by a piece of string, and she wore rough robes almost as torn as Ranma's clothes. He remained determined though; he had to get back to Akane and Ryoga as quickly as possible so they could continue on to Jusenkyo.  
  
"Would I ask you if I didn't remember?" He said impatiently. Ling seemed to hear his impatience; she motioned for him to sit across from her, which he did readily, and she pulled a black iron pot in front of her, her face staring towards him.  
  
"Let us see then, why you have lost your precious memory, eh? Then we shall talk about payment for Old Ling." Ranma started to nod, and then quickly said,  
  
"Sure" when he remembered her lack of sight. He remained silent as she pulled off ancient looking jars from a shelf he hadn't seen in the dark. She pulled out powders and other substances that Ranma didn't want to know, pouring them seemingly randomly into the pot. The finally powder she threw in created a great cloud of smoke, and Ranma struggled to not cover his mouth from the acrid smell. Ling breathed in the fumes deeply; then her dry voice spoke again, somehow sounding different, almost younger.  
  
"You are searching for answers; you are cursed," He tensed at hearing her speak of it, but decided at least she couldn't be too much of a fake, unless she was just guessing. "A loved one and a dear friend search for you, trying to decipher your fate even as you do." She fell silent, and Ranma waited for her to continue, glad to hear that Akane and Ryoga were all right then. 'Dear friend, huh? Whatever,' He thought, and concentrated on the woman's next words.  
  
"You were lost, afraid. In a.a forest. Something happened that is the cause of your problems. You were found by a group of thieves who were hiding." The woman's voice had changed again, now she sounded as though she were narrating a story. "You fought, but your strength was greatly diminished by something, and they left you, thought to be dead, in the forest. When you awoke, you were confused and wandered here." It all sounded familiar to Ranma, as though someone were reminding him of something that had happened years ago. He decided to risk a question.  
  
"What's causing me to forget though?" Meeting up with a bunch of thieves, heck, being beaten up by a bunch of thieves didn't sound so traumatic that he'd block it out. He was bruised, but not too badly hurt, and it seemed much more likely that it was due to his distorted curse than a natural reason. Ling's face wrinkled even more as she fell silent for a moment.  
  
"I cannot-see. It is.a corruption.a.corruption in the fabric of...of time.AH! JUN!" Ranma jumped up and back as she led out a loud cry and fell to the ground. He stared at her unmoving form, feeling apprehension wash over him as he stepped back again. That name, he recognized it from his dream! How could she know it?  
  
"Ms. Ling?" He asked softly. The woman didn't move, and Ranma made himself walk over to her and check for a pulse. There was none. Fighting back the sudden sense of revulsion that swept over him, he managed not to retch, but turned and ran out the door. He had a feeling he did not want to be found, a stranger in a small town, with a dead old woman. After running for almost half an hour, he stopped to get his bearings, which were none. Cursing, he realized he should have at least stopped for directions to Jusenkyo, but was unwilling to go back in case Ling had been found by now. Instead, he decided to wait awhile, maybe if he could tell which way was north by the sun or stars, he could get an idea of where he was, and how to reach Jusenkyo. For now, he'd just have to hope Akane and Ryoga were ok, and that they'd give up on looking for him and go there too. 'Sorry Akane, the peace was nice while it lasted,' He thought with a sigh, settling down under a thick-foliaged tree to wait for time to pass, trying to understand what Ling had meant. What did the name 'Jun' have to do with a corruption in...what had she called it? The 'Fabric of time'. He decided to save his questions for the guide at Jusenkyo, the events of the past week running through his head like some bizarre marathon.  
  
It was night when Akane and Ryoga, exhausted, finally decided to stop for another rest. After the tree, they'd found another clue; nearby there had been the slightest of impressions on the ground, grass bent and what appeared to be foot prints in the dried mud. They had surmised that it a form had laid there, probably a human one, and hopefully Ranma. Collapsing onto the ground, Akane leaned back on her hands, staring up at the sky.  
  
"What should we do Ryoga? We haven't found any other sign of a trail, who knows how long it will take to find him?" Her voice caught and she fell silent, hoping he couldn't see the tears run down her face because of the dark.  
  
"I don't know Akane. It's been a day, the odds are that Ranma's been turned back into himself, right? There are plenty of ways he could have gotten doused with warm water. If he is back to normal, then he probably doesn't remember anything, like when Shampoo found him. If that's the case, he won't know where he is, unless he's made it to a familiar town or city, which is unlikely. Knowing him, he'd go on to Jusenkyo and hope we meet him there."  
  
"You think so?" Akane asked, once she had control of her voice again. "You really think he's ok?" Ryoga nodded firmly.  
  
"He'd realize that there's almost no chance of use finding each other any time soon. I suggest we go on to Jusenkyo and wait for him there." Akane nodded slowly, thinking it through. Clearing her throat, she asked in a small voice, looking at Ryoga's form leaning against a tree, arms crossed.  
  
"But, what if he's still a girl Ryoga? What if he's still wandering around out there completely lost and confused?" Ryoga didn't meet her eyes as he shrugged slowly.  
  
"I don't know Akane. I don't know." She let out a tired sigh, feeling as though all her energy had drained at his words.  
  
"I guess we'll just have to go to Jusenkyo and see." She whispered back. 'I hope you're right Ryoga, because whatever's wrong with Ranma's curse isn't going to get better by itself.' Were her last thought before she fell into a dreamless sleep.  
  
End of Part 3  
  
I'm so proud of myself! I know the chapters are short, but I thought I'd only be able to write maybe one a week! I'll try to keep writing them this quickly, I didn't get as many plot points in as I wanted. Again, I really really appreciate the reviews! Thanks so much! I got three so far ::dances happily:: Not my record, but still, not bad for my first time on fanfic.net. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and hopefully it's a little more interesting than the first two chapters. Mysterious, in'nt it?? Mwahahah! Just you wait until it gets REALLY confusing! (Also, while I love all the characters in Ranma ½, the others weren't really necessary for the plot, however I'm considering bringing some in later on, what do you all think? Just keep it three or have Ukyo and/or Shampoo or the others make an appearance?) Till then, happy reading!  
-Luna Sealeaf 


	4. The Cure to Ranma's Curse: Part 4

Hello all! Sorry this has taken longer than I expected, but I had to write a story for my English class, which I may post on fiction.net.for all you romance/tragedy lovers out there, you might like it! Anyway, thanks so much to all you reviewers! Here are my responses since it took me awhile to realize you shouldn't hit the 'reply' button.  
Ghost in the Machine: Thanks for taking the time to read and review! The link didn't work, unfortunately; maybe you could email me again? As for the name Jun, I checked more sites, and while it is a unisex Japanese name, it is also a unisex Chinese name, which probably means it's not an old name, but I don't know, and this is fantasy anyway. But thanks all the same!! (Once again, if anyone knows the correct spelling of Jusenkyo, I'd really appreciate it, I can't believe out of the 5 manga I have, not one mention it, they only refer to it as the 'accursed' grounds)  
Jerry Unipeg: Thanks as well! I hope you liked the other chapters  
Alex Ultra: Thanks, I intend to! (  
Adi-chan: Thank you! I'm trying to make them longer, I'm just impatient to update, plus they appear longer on Microsoft word. The romance and drama will (hopefully) increase as the story progresses.  
Thanks again, now, on to the story!  
  
The Cure to Ranma's Curse  
Part 4  
  
Ranma awoke with a jolt, looking around confused until he remembered the events of the past day. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, and now dusk was falling. With a sigh, he stood up and studied the sun; determined his directions, and picked one. He still had no idea where he was, but with any luck he would find another village and get some directions.  
  
Many miles away, Akane woke in her dew-drenched tent; she started to realize how much she missed her own bed.among other things. With a heavy sigh, she got dressed and helped Ryoga to pack the tents and cookware back up.  
  
"I never thought I'd say this, but this was a lot more fun when Ranma was here," Ryoga muttered as Akane checked their map. Her eyes filled unexpectedly, so she only nodded and said nothing. They trudged through a light mist, saying few words, and both contemplating Ranma's fate.  
  
"No-no! Ju-senk-yo!" Ranma repeated slowly to a confused elderly Chinese man. He had spent the first half of his morning wandering around, luckily not in circles, and he had finally found a hermit living in a small hut. 'If only he understood what I was saying!' Ranma thought. Surely there should be more people who had heard of the cursed springs? As the man only shook his head in confusion, Ranma got an idea. He rummaged through his pack, finding a scrap of paper and a pencil. To the best of his ability, he drew the grounds as he knew them. It took a moment, but the man seemed to understand the picture, for he nodded slowly. Taking the pencil from Ranma's hand, and struggling to hold it correctly, he drew what appeared to be a small map. Ranma studied it, and at last realized where he was. Actually, he was closer to Jusenkyo than he had thought, which was a relief. It would hopefully be only a day, baring any unexpected rain showers. As this thought occurred to him, he decided to ask for one more thing; hot water. Again, he had trouble making his wish clear, but the man finally understood his meaning and gave him a wooden canteen of warm water. It wasn't much, but Ranma didn't want to ask for more. He bowed his thanks and started walking. While he walked, he tied the canteen to his waist, upside down. Hopefully if he turned into a girl, if he ran the right way the lid would be knocked off and his legs would be doused with warm water. Feeling more confident than he had earlier, he began to whistle. The tune was one Akane had hummed when she cooked and he stopped when he thought of her. 'Damn it Ryoga, you better take care of her,' He thought, wishing he could be back with the two. Traveling had lost its fun very quickly after he had gotten separated from his companions. He missed Akane, of course, but he also missed Ryoga, strange as that seemed to him. Still, feeling sorry for himself wouldn't get him there any faster. Not that he stopped; he just walked faster.  
  
"Oh, ugh," Akane exclaimed as she stepped yet again into ankle deep mud. They had come to a swampy area, and the traveling had been both slow and frustrating. Ryoga had offered to carry her, and while Akane had been tempted to say yes, she didn't want to add to Ryoga's trouble. She would also have had more difficulty in keeping him in the right direction. As it was, she kept having to detour to take Ryoga's arm and guide him in the right direction every once in awhile.  
  
"How much farther do you think it is?" Ryoga asked her. She stopped walking to study the map. With a disheartened sigh, she answered him.  
  
"Too far to walk in a day. At this rate it'll take us at least two more days." Ryoga just nodded and plodded on, Akane leading the way. She was tired of the silence though, and wanted to make conversation.  
  
"So Ryoga, has Ranma asked you yet?" Akane said brightly. Ryoga stared at her, a confused expression on his face.  
  
"Asked me what?"  
  
"To be Best Man of course. We're doing things the Western way; I think it's more romantic," She explained, smiling. She had a ring also, with a small diamond in the center, but she had left it at home for safety. Ryoga still looked puzzled, so she explained, to the best of her knowledge, what a best man was.  
  
"Wouldn't he ask his father? Or Mr. Tendo?" Ryoga asked.  
  
"We talked about it. Ranma says you've helped him train far more than his father did. Besides, you're his best friend" She said, as if that settled anything. 'I am?' Ryoga asked silently, but he didn't say it out loud.  
  
"Have you set a date then?" He said instead.  
  
"Not quite, some time in spring I think. We're going to take a week off from school for the..you know.honeymoon," She said, blushing as she thought of it. Ryoga's gritted his teeth; he didn't really want to hear about this, but he also didn't want to hurt Akane's feelings by changing the subject. Akane seemed to sense his mood, for she said nothing else of the matter.  
  
"I-I made it!" Ranma exclaimed to the sky. He was exhausted, he had practically jogged the rest of the way, but he had made it. His cure lay waiting for him at Jusenkyo. All he had to do was find the guide. It didn't take long, his small house was in the same place it always was. Breathing heavily, but smiling, he knocked on the door and waited.  
  
"Yes? Oh, is Mr. Customer!" The guide explained, smiling as he recognized Ranma. He opened the door wider, and Ranma stepped in, looking around.  
  
"How ya been? Where's your little girl?" He asked, not seeing her in the room.  
  
"Daughter is at school in city, please, sit down." The guide replied, gesturing to a small table with two chairs. Ranma sat down gratefully, dropping his pack onto the floor.  
  
"What bring Mr. Customer back to accursed grounds? To look for cure?" The guide asked. He set two cups on the table, with a small kettle of hot tea. Pouring it, he handed a cup to Ranma, who thanked him and sipped it.  
  
"Ah! That's good! Oh, yeah, actually, I need to ask some questions, if that's ok," He added.  
  
"Is fine sir, what you need to know?"  
  
"Well." He explained his current dilemma to him, then listened eagerly for answers. The guide was silent, sipping his tea thoughtfully before speaking again.  
  
"I not know for sure, but it sound like drowned girl's spirit is coming back," Ranma choked and sputtered on his tea, staring at the guide.  
  
"What?" He asked, gasping for breath. The guide nodded regretfully.  
  
"Some people who is cursed go through great trauma; strong emotions very quickly. Usually when this happen it.." He searched for the right word in Japanese. "Awakens spirit of original drowned body. Some time it no matter, if cursed form is animal, but when human, it can be very bad,"  
  
"No kidding," Ranma said softly. The news wasn't as encouraging as he thought. "So how do I stop this.this.person from 'coming back'?" The guide shrugged.  
  
"I no know. Most go mad and die." Seeing the color drain from Ranma's face, he quickly added, "But I sure you find way to stop it. You very unique," He said, and sipped his tea again. Ranma thought for a few minutes, biting his lip as ideas ran through his mind. Snapping his fingers, he exclaimed,  
  
"I've got it! What about the Amazons? They're ancient! And the old ghoul was the first to figure out it was my curse getting weird," He smiled proudly, the guide smiled politely, not understanding what he meant, except for the part about getting help from the Amazons.  
  
"Is good try. You may have to pass test for information though, Amazons not give help to weak or undeserving. Rest here a day, is day's walk to Amazon village, or longer," Ranma nodded, agreeing.  
  
He stayed the night, slept in, and walked around the springs in the afternoon. Secretly, he hoped Akane and Ryoga would arrive before he left; he didn't relish the thought of another journey by foot alone. To his surprise, and joy, two mud-covered, tired looking figures arrived at the guide's doorstep the next night. Ranma had opted to stay one more day; to see how the weather faired, was his excuse. Forgetting where he was, he ran out to greet them and hugged Akane fiercely. She hugged him back until he finally let go, blushing. Turning to look at them both, his grin nearly reached his ears.  
  
"Great to see you guys again! Took you long enough!" Akane laughed as Ryoga gave him a half hearted punch, then they trudged inside to wash up. They ate dinner together, and Ranma explained his idea of going to the Amazons for help.  
  
"What do you think?" He asked them. Ryoga shrugged, shoveling food into his mouth, but Akane smiled encouragingly.  
  
"I think that's a good idea Ranma. Shall we go tomorrow?" Ranma nodded and they spent a surprisingly fun night there. The guide kept calling it a 'party' but mostly they were all just relieved to have been united again. The three of them slept in, and the guide had packs of more food waiting for them when they awoke. Thanking him for everything, they once again set out.  
  
The journey was much more pleasant than their previous, and they only had to spend one night outside. Ranma held Akane's hand unabashed, and he and Ryoga exchanged superficial insults. When they came to the edge of the village, they were met by a young woman holding a spear towards them. She spoke a long stream of Chinese at them, but they had come prepared. The guide had told them what to say in Chinese, and Ranma had memorized it. Slowly, he repeated it to the girl. She stared at them, but nodded her understanding and led them to the center of the village. A large wooden cabin was there, and she spoke to the two guards outside of it. The girl left and the two guards led them inside, Akane walking behind Ranma nervously and Ryoga trailing behind them.  
  
Inside sat three old women all sitting on low stools, the one on the far left looked vaguely like Cologne, and she wore deep green robes. The middle had golden robes with shorter hair, and she was taller than the other one. The right woman wore blue robes, she was the only one of the three to have a streak of black in her long hair.. The middle woman said something, and the guards replied. The communication barrier was starting to annoy Ranma, who decided to learn Chinese when he returned to Japan. The three women nodded as one at the guards reply, and the green robed woman called out in a clear voice,  
  
"So, you have come seeking help. What do you knowledge do you wish to gain from us?" She asked him. Feeling rather like a school boy being questioned by his teacher, Ranma nevertheless gave a confident reply.  
  
"I fell in one of the springs of Jusenkyo awhile ago, the spring of the drowned girl." And he explained everything, with Akane and Ryoga adding their information as well. The three women listened silently as they explained everything, and it took nearly an hour for them to finish.  
  
"The Amazons know much of the past; we keep records that are far older than the oldest Elder." The green robed woman said.  
  
"We shall be happy to help with your problem, if you can prove your worth," The blue robed woman said after her. Ranma cracked his knuckles, smiling.  
  
"No problem," He said, but the women were not looking at him. The golden robed one stared at Akane.  
  
"Do you accept the challenge?"  
  
"What?!" Ryoga and Ranma exclaimed together as they turned to face Akane, who looked as surprised as they did. Ranma shook his head furiously, mouthing a 'no'. Akane saw him, and felt annoyed that he didn't trust her fighting ability. Just because she wasn't as good a fighter as Shampoo didn't mean she couldn't handle an Amazon, besides, Shampoo was supposed to be the best fighter, so surely she could take on one Amazon. Besides, Ranma's life was on the line, what choice did she have? With a firm nod, she replied,  
  
"I accept." The women stared at her gravely while Ranma cried out, "No Akane!" but they ignored him.  
  
"How soon do you wish to begin?" The center woman asked.  
  
"Right away," Akane said, again ignoring the two boys. The three women conversed among themselves in Chinese before switching back to Japanese.  
  
"Very well; in three hours we shall send three warriors to fight you. If you beat them honorably, we shall tell you all we know," Akane bowed, Ranma and Ryoga copying her reluctantly.  
  
"Thank you Grandmothers," She said solemnly. The guards ushered them outside, where Ranma turned on her angrily.  
  
"What are you doing Akane? You don't stand a chance against one of their fighters!"  
  
"Well what should we do then? Just hope whatever's wrong with you will just go away? I'm not going to sit and watch you go mad Ranma!" She said, her eyes filling with tears at her last words.  
  
"Damn it! If my girl form wasn't going crazy I could fight this myself!" He turned away from them, fists clenched. Understanding his problem, Ryoga rested a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I know you hate to have others fight your battles for you Ranma, but Akane's right. She's a good fighter, she'll be fine," Akane beamed at his praise, but Ryoga's real message to Ranma was: We won't let her fight this by herself. Ranma turned again to look at Ryoga's face, understanding his true meaning and allowed himself a small smile.  
  
"You're right, and it's not like it's a duel to the death or anything," He said, and they laughed, feeling more relaxed. Until one of the guards turned and said in heavily accented Japanese, smiling,  
  
"Actually, it is,"  
  
End of Part 4  
  
Mwahahaha! Was that a cliffhanger? I like to think so!! Cool twist, having Akane have to fight, really fight, for Ranma, eh? Spur of the moment really.anyway, hopefully it's gotten a little more interesting, although I still haven't gotten to the real plot! I keep getting sidetracked! Argh! Still, it's better than writer's block, I guess. Well, I hope you liked it, and I'm not writing the next chapter till at least one person reads and reviews this one, so there! Thanks again, and don't forget you can send all thoughts/comments/ideas/ to Runicprincess@aol.com  
-Luna Sealeaf 


	5. The Cure to Ranma's Curse: Part 5

Wow, I actually read my last few chapters, and I realized how bad they were! At least I read the reviews, otherwise I'd be clueless! Thank you so much, everyone who has read it, despite the awful story telling. One thing that is bothering me though is the number of people who explain to me that Jun is a Japanese name. Thank you, I've realized that. However, I have not stated who Jun is! I'm not even sure if she is Chinese! Besides, I've found it on Chinese name lists (many of them) as female, and sometimes male or female. Thanks nonetheless for noticing though. As for more details, you're all right; school has practically beaten the idea of description out of me. All the stories I've written were declared too long and off topic, so I started using as little description as possible and started getting better grades.someone please explain that to me??? Anyway, please bear with me, and I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter more than the others! (Really this is backwards for me; usually my stories start out really good but get progressively worse as I lose interest in the story, luckily this has not happened)  
  
Disclaimer: I (obviously) do not own any of these characters, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and maybe some sort of anime company, I don't know, but I'm not making any profit off of this.  
  
The Cure to Ranma's Curse: Part 5  
  
Silence enveloped the three travelers as the guard's words echoed in their minds. In a strangely detached way, Ranma noticed that there were few people walking around the village, and vaguely wondered if it had something to do with their arrival. Then he noticed Akane; she was shaking, although with anger or fear he could not tell.  
  
"Akane, please, don't do this! We'll find some other way! Perhaps the answer is simply to turn back into a man at Jusenkyo-" He tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it away, turning to look him in the eye.  
  
"Why don't you believe in me Ranma?" She sounded hurt, her tired brown eyes questioning him.  
  
"I do believe in you Akane, but you can't win! Even if you defeat the warrior, they'll make you kill her! Don't you understand? Either way, you'll have lost," He replied softly, staring back at her eyes to make sure she understood. She did; he could see the realization in her eyes.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Akane said softly, the question hanging in the cool breeze. How could birds sing, how could the sun shine so brightly in a clear sky when they were faced with such problems? It was Ryoga who finally broke their thoughtful reverie.  
  
"Why are they making her do this anyway? Why can't we fight? What's the point of having a challenge anyway?" He said the words bitterly, his fists clenched at his side. Ranma watched him for a moment, turning away to observe the few Amazons who were nearby, ignoring the strange visitors.  
  
"It's a matriarchal society, to them Akane is probably our leader, or at least the best fighter. That's why if my cursed form wasn't going crazy I'd fight instead; though if it weren't distorted, we wouldn't be here would we?" His words made him laugh but neither Akane nor Ryoga joined him. "Why make us face a challenge for their help? Who knows?" These last words were said with bitterness equal to Ryoga's.  
  
They decided to rest for the next three hours, mayhap they could figure out a plan of some sort. No good ideas came to them while they waited, and no one offered any help. So they sat in a small circle where they were, flanked by two small houses of wood and straw. Villagers passed by; still ignoring them. It was almost like watching TV; no interaction seemed possible with the people they 'watched'. Conversation was stilted among them too, and despite the problems ahead of them, boredom set in.  
After a while, it had occurred to them that Akane would have difficulty fighting in the clothes she wore; so Ranma unpacked his white training pants and shirt and gave them to Akane. While he and Ryoga had turned their backs, Akane had quickly changed in a nearby patch of trees. The outfit was too large on her, but she would be able to move better in it than in her previous pants and sweater.  
  
"I wonder where the fight will be." Akane said as the last hour ticked by.  
  
"I'm guessing they'll tell us," Ranma answered her as he pointed to the three small women who had been in the tent. He had surmised that they were Elders, but he didn't really know much about the local government. Still, he rose to his feet as they approached. All three were taller than Cologne, yet he still thought they looked as though they could use a staff.  
  
Akane and Ryoga followed his lead and stood up to wait for the women to approach; the golden-robed one walked in front, the green and blue walking a step behind her side by side. When they came close enough, the three of them bowed; it never hurt to be polite when in a strange place surrounded by extremely good fighters. The women seemed not to notice their bow, and the leader, perhaps the chief Elder, said in a stately voice,  
  
"The challenge accepted by the strangers shall commence. The three best warriors of our village shall test the challenger one by one. If she can defeat all three and thus prove herself a true and deserving person, her request shall be granted. The fight shall be to the death, the challenger killed if she cannot defeat her opponent." As she spoke, Akane's gaze had firmed and her face betrayed no fear. Ranma felt admiration, love, and frustration for her. How could he convince her to not do this without wounding her pride? What words of his could convince her that he would rather die a thousand times than watch her die for him? He wanted to say something; to somehow stop this, but then they were following the elders to an open space in the village and he still hadn't thought of a way to stop it.  
  
"This is the field. To step outside of it-" Ranma saw there were dark lines around the edge of the rectangular space, "Is to forfeit the match and lose." She finished. Akane nodded her understanding and walked to the center; Ranma felt ill suddenly. As he watched, frozen with horror and indecision, a young woman who reminded him of Shampoo, approached Akane. The woman had long, flowing black hair that was tied in back. Her loose yet form fitting clothes were exactly like the ones Shampoo had worn when Ranma had first seen her. Somewhere a drum was hit loudly, and in the time it took Ranma to blink, the young woman had lunged at Akane.  
  
His breath caught in his throat as she managed to block and then roll away from the Amazon. The crowd watching was silent; no words of encouragement and warning were shouted. Ranma glanced at Ryoga, who stood next to him. His arms were crossed tightly and he watched the match with a frown on his face. Almost too afraid to look, Ranma turned back to Akane. She was on defense, not having a chance to strike at the warrior.  
  
'That girl's moving faster than Shampoo!' Ranma realized with horror; Akane would never be able to defeat her, unless she managed to wait until the Amazon tired out. 'Yes!' Ranma thought happily; Akane was strong and she had good endurance. She had a chance to win this. His brief euphoria ended quickly when he realized that even if she was able to outlast this warrior; there were two more after her. There was no chance she would be able to fight them all off. Ryoga must have come to a similar conclusion for he elbowed Ranma in the side, trying not to attract attention from the elder Amazons, who were standing a few yards away to their right.  
  
"So how are we going to get her out of this without all of us getting killed?"  
  
Ryoga whispered, not quite turning his head. Ranma's brow furrowed; how indeed? If they tried to simply put an end to the fight, it seemed likely the Amazons would kill them all for cheating. He would never admit to limitations in his ability, and Ryoga was almost as good as him, but even he doubted they could take on a full village of fighters as good as Mousse and Shampoo or better.  
  
"I don't know," Ranma said back. They watched in silence, each trying to find a way to end this without offending the Amazons or getting them all killed.  
  
Minutes passed, Ranma could tell Akane was tiring. Sweat ran down her red face as she dodged the blows and kicks of the woman. In contrast, the Amazon didn't look the least bit fazed; her hair was barely out of its tie and she wasn't breathing as heavily as Akane. 'What to do? What can I do?' the words ran around in Ranma's head like a circle. It was a maddening spectacle; he had never felt so helpless before in his life. It was his duty as a martial artist to protect others. While that included Akane beyond all doubt, he didn't want to fight the Amazons. He knew he could defeat at least some of them, perhaps most. He also knew that there were children in the village and the odds were that if he killed even one person, there would be innocent people left to grieve.  
  
Ryoga's cry of "NO!" broke through his thoughts and he looked back up at the fighters. Almost in slow motion, he saw the Amazon warrior's high kick catch Akane in the head and she was thrown to the ground. She did not get back up. His sense of honor and duty had disappeared; Ranma broke through the small line of people watching in front of him and ran towards Akane. He sensed Ryoga right behind him, but he didn't really care. His only thoughts were of reaching Akane before her opponent. The woman was preparing for a move to kill; he could see it. He ran until he was close enough to jump the rest of the way, which he did, landing in front of Akane. Quickly he picked her up and out of the way of the woman's fists.  
  
"Stop!" He shouted, and to his surprise, she did. Looking uncertainly towards the elders, she simply stood there and watched him.  
  
"Is she alright?" Ryoga asked breathlessly as Ranma laid Akane back on the ground, kneeling in front of her. Ryoga was still standing; watching the crowd to make sure no one would try and attack them.  
  
"Yeah, I think she just got hit pretty hard; she's unconscious," Ranma answered him as he checked Akane's pulse. It was steady, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he picked her up again and turned to study the crowd.  
  
The three old women had entered the fighting area. The one in green robes said something to the warrior in Chinese; she bowed to the elders and left. Ranma hoped that was a good sign.  
  
"I'm sorry we asked for your help, but this fight is over," Ranma said to them coldly.  
  
"Ah, but you shall receive our help, if you still want it," The leader of the three replied. Her gold robes shimmered in the sun, making it hard to see, but Ranma was pretty sure she was smiling.  
  
"What do you mean? Akane lost," Ryoga answered angrily, taking a step toward them.  
  
"But you have still proven yourselves to be deserving people. It is obvious you our desperate for our help, and yet you would not allow your friend," Seeing the protective way Ranma was holding Akane to him, she rephrased her words, "Your love, to die. You may think our ways hard, but we recognize what it means to be a good person as well as a good fighter, and we know that they are equally important traits,"  
  
Ranma was stunned, even Ryoga looked unsure of what to say.  
  
"Well, that's certainly a nicer sentiment than what Cologne would say," Ryoga said in a relieved voice, a small smile on his face. Ranma couldn't have agreed more. Before they could answer the woman, a man darted onto the ground. He was wearing a dark shirt outlined with white cuffs on the sleeves, with dark glasses and pants, and a small mustache adorned his face. Ranma stared at him; he looked vaguely familiar some how.  
  
In halting Japanese the man said, slowly but with a sense of eagerness,  
  
"You know Cologne?" Taken aback by the question, Ranma and Ryoga nodded.  
  
"Uh yeah, I know her and Shampoo, and Mousse," Ranma replied. The man broke into a smile.  
  
"You know daughter, Shampoo?" He asked them. Ranma and Ryoga stared at each other in surprise; Shampoo had a father?  
  
"Yeah, we know her. He was engaged to her for awhile," Ryoga answered him, jabbing a thumb in Ranma's direction and his smile growing as he ignored Ranma's angered protest.  
  
"Ah! Daughter has written of you!" He didn't quite get the word for written write, but he mimed the act and Ranma and Ryoga understood it. The man then turned to the women, bowing deeply. They talked in quick Chinese for a few minutes, the boys wondering what was going on. For the moment, at least, things seemed to be looking up for them. Shampoo's father turned back to them, and smiled.  
  
"Please, accept my hospitality while you here. Friends of daughter is friends of mine. Village Elders will give all help needed," He told them happily. Ranma broke into a smile himself. This was certainly an unexpected change in the Amazon's attitudes, but it was most certainly a welcome one. Still, Ryoga and Ranma were a little wary; they bowed their thanks but exchanged skeptical glances.  
  
"Thank you, I'm Ranma Saotome," He added almost as an afterthought, wondering if Shampoo had written to her father at all and if she had, what had she told him?  
  
"I'm Ryoga Hibiki," Ryoga said as Shampoo's father ushered them away from the fighting field. Ranma was still carrying Akane's limp form, but he barely noticed her weight. A quick examination had told him that she was only unconscious and would wake up soon, although he would have like someone with more medical knowledge to confirm that. For the moment, he said nothing and merely followed the man, Ryoga at his side, through the small streets of the village.  
  
"I am Detangler, welcome to our village," He said pleasantly, hands folded in his robes as they walked along the street. Villagers whispered as they passed, but Ranma ignored them. Instead, he met Ryoga's puzzled look with one of his own. In a questioning voice, he asked,  
  
"Uh-, pleased to meet you, Tangler?" He said, sounding confused. Shampoo's father sighed audibly, stopped walking and turned to face the two young men.  
  
"It's Detangler, not the Tangler. Don't worry, it's a common mistake," He said, and he did sound used to correcting people. Ranma and Ryoga blushed slightly, but Detangler ignored them and kept walking. Presently they reached a small house; really more of a hut, although it looked more comfortable than the word implied. They followed Detangler inside, and he motioned for Ranma to set Akane down on a mat on the floor.  
  
The room was dark, with a few windows, but not dank or unclean. It smelled of straw, which Ranma saw the roof was made of, and a small wooden table and a few stools, with cushions on the floor, with a bed in the back, gave it a cozy feeling. After gently laying Akane onto the mat, Detangler told them to sit down, which they did.  
  
"So, what is the reason you have come seeking aid from us?" Detangler asked curiously. Ranma explained his curse and the reason they had come.  
  
"When can we see the Elders?" Ranma asked him hesitantly, not sure they were really called that. Detangler didn't seem to notice though.  
  
"They await us in the Council Hall, would one of you like to remain with the girl? If not, I can ask a neighbor to watch her while we are gone," Again, Ranma hesitated. He didn't want to leave Akane by herself, but he didn't know how long it would take her to wake up.  
  
"I'll stay with her," Ryoga volunteered. "Don't worry about her Ranma. Just go find your cure so we can go home," He said calmly as Ranma and Detangler stood up. Ranma nodded to him, but turned once Detangler had gone to wait for him outside. Lowering his voice, Ranma inquired,  
  
"Why didn't you look for the Spring of Drowned Man while we were at Jusenkyo?" He asked, for he had been wondering why Ryoga hadn't looked for the cure while they had been so close to it. Ryoga looked away; his gaze resting on Akane's sleeping face.  
  
"Did I have time? I didn't want to sneak away in case Akane got suspicious. Besides, I wasn't about to let her go off alone with you. What if you had gotten turned into a girl on your way here?" Ryoga fell silent, and Ranma felt bad for asking.  
  
"Oh. Well, we can go there again before we leave for Japan," He said uncomfortably. Ryoga only nodded, and then stood up to look for some water to make tea. Ranma left the hut and Detangler led him to the Council Hall. It was the same building He, Ryoga, and Akane had been taken to when they had first arrived.  
  
Only the golden robed woman sat inside, Ranma saw as he and Detangler were led inside the larger building. She was as crone-like as Cologne, but she somehow had a softer appearance to her. Ranma didn't think she looked like a fighter, but then, neither had Cologne when he first saw her.  
  
"We have studied upon your problem, young.?" She waited for him to provide his name.  
  
"Ranma," He said, eagerly waiting for her information.  
  
"Ranma then; I am afraid you will not be happy at our findings." Ranma swallowed, and he saw Detangler cast him a sympathetic glance, but he ignored it.  
  
"What do I have to do to fix this, or better yet, get rid of my curse altogether?" He asked her, fists clenched in anticipation.  
  
"That is the key to it; we must get rid of your cursed form. This will not be easy however, and it will only be temporary," Seeing Ranma's confused face, she sighed, clarifying it for him.  
  
"There is a potion that must be made. Once you have drunk it, the spirit of the drowned girl will separate from your body, appearing in your cursed form." She spoke slowly, trying to make her meaning as easily understood as possible. "This will be painful, but it is necessary. We must then banish the spirit somehow; if we are lucky, she will merely leave of her own free will. If we are not." Her voice trailed off. "Then more extreme measures will have to be taken." Comprehension dawned on Ranma, and he felt sick. This didn't sound pleasant at all; but he was determined to solve this so they could get home as soon as possible.  
  
"When can we do this?" He asked her grimly. She nodded, glad that he was not afraid.  
  
"The potion is already being made." She told him. "It shall be ready in a few hours," Ranma wasn't sure whether to take this as good news or bad news. He just hoped that Akane was awake before he had to do this, it would be easier with her at his side. Except that then she would be in danger. 'No,' he thought bleakly 'its better if she stays away until it's settled, one way or another.'  
  
Ranma hoped that, as the woman had said, they would be lucky.  
  
End of Part 5  
  
That took a lot longer than the other chapters, although I don't think it's much longer. Anyway, hopefully it was better than the previous ones. I apologize for taking liberty with Shampoo's dad, but my friend has been begging me to add that little, "de, not the, tangler" bit. And I know that usually it's 'Hibiki Ryoga, and Saotome Ranma' but if this bothers you, then consider it a translated fanfic, k? Cause in the manga they do it the English way, and since I'm not writing in Japanese, that's how I'm doing things too. Thanks again, please let me know what you think.  
-Luna Sealeaf Runicprincess@aol.com 


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